Router repair

The Cast software lets people pipe apps or content, such as music or a movie, to another device – often a smart TV.

The problem emerges because the Cast software does not stop trying to keep in touch with other Google devices on a home network. This meant that when a Cast-ready device woke up it got sent all the packets of data it did not receive when it was inactive.

The huge amount of data could overwhelm a router and make it shut down or cause disruption to other devices on a home network, it said.

TP Link, Netgear, Linksys and Asus are all producing patches for their home routers, to help them handle the data surge.

In its advisory, Google said the fix would be applied as part of an update to the Cast software on the Google Play app store. It also urged people to update the firmware on their router to the latest version.